Member spotlight | Corporal Lucas Tabone: Sharing life-saving skills with confidence and compassion

November 8, 2024 - Defence Stories

By Captain Graeme Scott, Public Affairs Officer, Joint Task Force-Ukraine

Born and raised in Hamilton, Ontario, Corporal (Cpl) Lucas Tabone, has always wanted to help people, by using the right balance of expertise and compassion. 

When asked to deploy on Operation UNIFIER, Cpl Tabone saw the opportunity to help members of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) by passing on his medical knowledge and supporting them with some much-needed compassion. “It is incredibly rewarding to be able to take my skills and pass them on to someone who is going to use them to save lives and reduce suffering,” Cpl Tabone said.

Operation (Op) UNIFIER is the Canadian Armed Forces’ (CAF) military training, professionalization, and capacity building mission in support of Ukraine. One of the four training elements is the medical training element (MTE). This element is a Polish-led medical training program for the Armed Forces of Ukraine, focusing on advanced tactical medical skills and combat survivability that has saved Ukrainian lives on the battlefield.

When asked about his time as an instructor with the MTE, Cpl Tabone said that, “The AFU members are all extremely grateful for everything we’ve taught them. They are constantly thanking us for sharing our knowledge and giving them the tools they need to help save lives and reduce suffering.”

“When candidates show up, most of them have some level of medical knowledge. Whether that is from professional training before the Russian invasion or during their time defending their country.” Cpl Tabone went on to say that, “as they progress through our course, we are enhancing and refining their medical skills. You see the evolution in their skills and confidence. Certain things that they weren’t confident in at the start of the course, they are excelling in at the end.”

Of course, in these kinds of situations, the candidates aren’t the only ones who pick up new skills and refine existing ones. “Having to instruct through a translator has made me place more focus on how to word things, balancing detail and simplicity, to make sure that the information is properly understood,” Cpl Tabone explained.

When asked what it feels like to see the AFU candidates board a bus and head back to the front lines, in order to defend their country against the Russian invasion, Cpl Tabone was very clear. “Every time that we salute them as they drive back to Ukraine it has a big impact on all of us. When we are back in Canada you don’t always get the big picture of what is happening to the members of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and what their life is like. You don’t understand until you come on an operation like this and spend time with them.”